The Life & Times of AVMA Student Externs in Our Nation's Capital

It is great to be back in DC! As an undergraduate in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, I was able to spend a summer working on the Hill as an agricultural fellow. It was during that time that I met with Dr. Anna Reddish, then Miss Anna Daniel, who was serving as an AVMA GRD extern. Anna was having a wonderful experience lobbying for veterinarians on the Hill, , mingling at fundraisers and receptions, and meeting with a variety of DVMs. Knowing I would soon be going to vet school at the University of Georgia, I made it a goal to also serve as an AVMA GRD extern. Four years later… here I am!

Having lived and worked on the Hill before, I am familiar with the grandeur that is the District of Columbia. Even so, I admit a pilomotor reflex (nerd for goosebumps) when the Capitol dome first came into view from my Uber car window. It is truly spectacular to see a building that is the symbol of the American people and our government, crowned with the Statue of Freedom.

Capitol at Night. Architect of the Capitol

I am proud to live in a country whose citizens are extended an open invitation to participate in the political process. Whether you are here to lobby for Georgia peanut farmers like my friend Jessie Bland does on occasion, or visiting to honor our veterans at the Honor Flight, or you are a high school student working as a Senate Page, there is truly something for everyone.

For the next four weeks I look forward to exercising my right to advocate for our profession in this great city! Patriotism aside, the food is reason enough to visit.